Known for opening the doors of mobility to the middle class with increased accessibility and affordability of cars, one of India’s largest automakers- Maruti Suzuki has onboarded the Bhul Bhulaiyya 3 fame Kartik Aaryan as its latest brand ambassador for its hot and stylish flagship offering- Brezza.
Announcing the move in a press conference, Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer- Marketing and Sales, Maruti Suzuki India, emphasised that this development marks a very momentous day for MSIL as it begins a whole new chapter for its powerplay offering- Brezza.
“Since Brezza is very hot, stylish and gentle at the same time, when we were trying to find out the right fit for the brand from Bollywood, we did a lot of research and after that we concluded that there is only one man who is playful, smart, stylish, hardworking, tough, gentle and heartthrob of millions, all at the same time- Kartik Aaryan. And so, we are now associating both and bringing in Kartik to start a new journey for the brand,” he said.
What further adds a feather to this brand association cap is the fact that Aaryan has himself been a hardcore Maruti fan since childhood as it was MSIL’s Maruti 800 which was the first car or staple car for a majority of Indian households in those days.
“Being associated with a car which is not only powerful, stylish, hot and gentle but also meant for families- Brezza as MSIL kickstarts its new chapter- Brezza 2.0 is indeed a great one for there seemed a personal connect between myself and the brand,” he said.
With this, Banerjee also hinted at the duration and scope of this partnership when he stated that this strategic partnership is poised to be for a longer distance and can include other MSIL brands as well in its fold going forward.
Commenting on some of the things he looks out for when entering into ambassador-ship with brands, the Bollywood actor echoed that he looks forward to qualitiveness and relatability cohesion.
In this case, what blends in well between MSIL’s Brezza and Aaryan, is that the synchronization sets in perfectly between their persona and both cater to families.
Additionally, what comes as a cherry on top, as per MSIL’s Banerjee is the fact that in India, the major demographic demand comes from the young generation, typically, and the bollywood quotient only fuels it further.
“Today’s young India is looking for a product which is stylish, powerful, and has the possibility to do good things and at Brezza, we needed to appeal to this young genre of audience and show them that Brezza is just not a car, but is truly the heart of young Indians owing to the fact that the car is hot, playful, powerful and stylish,” he said.
Having said that, Banerjee also elaborated a bit on the brand’s marketing plans and highlighted how the game has changed from being functionality led to performance led and finally to purpose led.
“When it comes to automobiles, everyone looks at the mileage and features of the car which all ads showcase pretty well. But there is a pressing need to realise that for a brand to stand out, there needs to be a bigger purpose which can translate into how a consumer can make his/her contribution to sustainability, nature, etc. If I can make a difference in any form, why shouldn’t I do it and if I can do it, why not do it by buying the right car. Hence, today, the campaigns are not just being focussed on the functionality part, but also bring in the purpose quotient,” he said.
Talking specifically about the new campaign of MSIL’s Brezza, he mentioned that Aaryan is setting a purpose- “It’s not just about having elements like power, character, strength, etc. that makes a person what they are but also the ability to keep up with evolving lifestyles,” in the latest ‘More Power to Your Play’ campaign.
Moving on from campaigns to activations, Banerjee or what many in the marketing fraternity refer to him as Partho San, pointed out that experiential marketing, even though it is a new thing, is only poised to grow multifold in the foreseeable future because consumer behavior is changing and people today really want to experience the products/services.
“Everyone is making good products today, but till the time the consumer doesn’t experience who is really going to stand with that promise, they won’t buy the promise or purpose,” he clarified.
Furthermore, on the media mix planning for MSIL, he emphasised that the brand is going all for digital to target the youngsters as that is predominantly the medium which this audience cohort lives and breathes on and hence, during the recently culminated Bharat Global Expo 2025 as well, MSIL skipped print ads from its media mix and picked up digital media and collaborations with influencers and Bollywood star- Kartik Aaryan to speak volumes and cater to the big market.
However, he also clarified that this doesn’t mean that traditional mediums are not doing good, at all.
“Fundamentally, the media mix choices are taken basis the target audience and what mediums they use to communicate the right messages to them and hence, when its the younger cohort which is highly active on digital platforms, digital is the way to go in order to be more effective in the world which is now moving to the digital,” he explained.
Up next, Banerjee also addressed a question on what works better for these younger cohorts- short form or long form content, he stated that short form is something which is working well today since the audience majorly lies on digital mediums, however there is still a large chunk of audience staying in Bharat which dabbles with traditional mediums where longer format does better, hence with both India and Bharat co-existing, the split has to be a mix of both.
With this, he also expressed high hopes from the newly launched Brezza and highlighted how it is growing at a phenomenal rate of 18%, as again the industry which is currently growing at a rate of only 4%.
Picking from here, Aaryan also said that he would want this brand association between himself and MSIL to go to a point where both the names come together and when MSIL grows, his value also grows and the two become synonymous with each other.
